Construction News

Coming off the best year for construction spending since 2008, the January figures have 2016 off to a great start. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of construction spending for January was $1,140.8 billion. This is 1.5% higher than December’s estimate which was revised up from $1,116.6 billion to $1,123.5 billion. November’s estimate was also revised […]

Putting together a winning bid proposal is a lot more complicated than putting some numbers together and hoping for the best. Good bid preparation requires a lot of time and effort that involves everything from reading and fully understanding the plans and specifications to accurately estimating costs for labor, materials and equipment. Making even the […]

Falls are the leading cause of construction worker deaths every year. In 2014, falls accounted for nearly 40%, 349 of 874, of all worker fatalities in construction. Take our Fall Protection Quiz to test your knowledge on fall safety. After you finish the quiz, let us know how you did in the comments section.

The January Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 49.6 reflects a slight decrease in demand for design services to start the year. This is a bit of a letdown after finishing out 2015 with a score of 50.9 in December that was revised up to 51.3. The revision is due to the American Institute of […]

For the first time in 25 years, the maximum fines for OSHA violations are set to significantly increase this year. A provision in the budget bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last year included a provision in the “Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015” that would […]

A recent survey by ARC Document Solutions on emerging technologies in the AEC industry revealed that 65.3% of respondents indicated virtual reality would be the next big technology trend. (The use of drones for surveying and project documentation was second at 61.9%.) The top two benefits of virtual reality use cited were easier visualization of […]

The latest Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was released this morning and the construction industry added 18,000 jobs in January. This is a bit of a letdown since the industry added an impressive 146,000 jobs during the final quarter of 2015. October (33,000), November (65,000) and December (48,000) for nearly half […]

Great News! As we predicted for most of last year, total value of construction put in place (CPIP) for 2015 was $1,097.3 billion, surpassing the $1 trillion mark for the first time since 2008 when it hit $1,077.4 billion. This is a 10.5% increase over the 2014 CPIP which was $993.4 billion. Based on the latest […]

Imagine walking onto a construction site to find a fleet of bulldozers, graders and excavators doing site prep without any operators behind the controls. Upon closer inspection, you notice some of the equipment is cab-less with no manual controls. The operators might be standing at a safe distance operating the machine remotely. Maybe the equipment […]

After slipping below 50 in November, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) finished out the year back in positive territory with a score of 50.9 for December. This past year was definitely up and down for design demand often with decreases in demand coming on the heels of consecutive months of strong score. The average ABI […]

A new year brings a new list of construction trends to watch for in 2016. This is the third year we’ve compiled a top trends list and two of the mainstays every year are growth and technology. 2016 will be the fourth consecutive year of construction spending growth and we should be fully back to […]

The construction industry had another solid month of job gains, adding 45,000 in December. November’s total was revised up from 46,000 to 48,000 jobs added and October was revised up again to 35,000 jobs added. In the 4th Quarter of 2015 the construction industry added 128,000 jobs. That means in the industry added nearly half […]

In November the seasonally adjusted annual rate of construction spending dropped for the first time in 17 months. November’s seasonally adjusted annual rate was $1,122.5 billion, a decrease of 0.4% from October’s revised estimate of $1,127.0 billion. The last decrease in the annual rate was back in June 2014. Construction spending is up 10.5% from […]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there 4,679 fatal occupational injuries in the U.S. in 2014. In the construction industry there were 874 worker deaths, which is about 19% of all worker deaths. The construction industry had a 6% increase in worker deaths from the 828 in 2013. On […]

As we head toward the final days of 2015, it’s time to reveal our third annual “Coolest Buildings of the Year” list. The criteria for making the list is simple, the building must have been topped out, completed or opened in 2015 and has some aspect that makes it cool. Each year it gets a […]